What it’s like to sail from Cartagena to Panama aboard the Ti Vaou
There’s nothing like sailing across the Caribbean – and better yet if the sailing cuts out a flight!
Therefore, it’s no surprise that many people choose to reroute around the Darien Gap by sailing across the Caribbean, instead of flying between Colombia and Panama. One of the boats that does this route is Ti Vaou, a former racing catamaran.
I sailed from Colombia to Panama aboard the Ti Vaou in April 2023. I figured I’d share my experiences of the crossing, so that if you’re considering taking the Ti Vaou, or any other sailboat, from Colombia to Panama or vice versa, you have a better idea of what it’s like.
Why did I pick Ti Vaou?
My sister and I decided to take a sailboat from Colombia to Panama initially because the pictures of the San Blas Islands, which the boats sail through, look stunning. And Blue Sailing – the leading agency for this route – and its competitors sell the boat experience alongside the islands themselves, with smiling faces crowded around boats or islands, having what looks like the best time of their lives.
As such, we decided we’d take a sailing trip, in hopes of having a similar experience. We narrowed down our dates and Ti Vaou was one of the four sailings which remained.
I wish I could say we picked it as it was a catamaran – it’s one of the few catamarans with Blue Sailing that make the crossing, and was a big factor for some of the others on the boat. The actual reason we picked it was because, when we were deciding between two boats, Lou asked Blue Sailing how social or chill both of them were. Apparently, as Ti Vaou contains a mix of doubles and four-person rooms, it attracts more solo travellers; other boats on this route contain mainly doubles, which are preferable for couples. We didn’t want to be the only non-couple on the boat – so Ti Vaou it was!
We booked it in November 2022, six months before our sailing, as it was towards the end of our route across South America and we organised it before we left. However, other people on our boat booked it only a couple of months before the sailing, so this didn’t matter too much.
A tour of the Ti Vaou: accommodation and boat space
When you’re on the open ocean, the boat that you’re on really matters. You’re stuck there for one to two days, after all.
Therefore, I’ll give you a run down of the layout of Ti Vaou and the accommodation available, then the boat communal areas. Both are super important for your experience.
Accommodation
The living space in Ti Vaou is split into two halves, with each side of the catamaran containing two rooms. There are two separate doubles which share their rooms with the two toilets on board, plus a compartment containing two doubles and one containing a double and bunk bed. There’s also a double bed behind the saloon, providing space for a total of fourteen people.
Where does the crew sleep? On the long seats of the saloon, or outside on the deck! I did not envy them at all.
The sleeping space is cramped and not that private. For example, we were in the double bed by the kitchen. There were no doors between the kitchen and us, so when we were docked it was probably the hottest room in the boat, and with the toilet being there as well there was always traffic coming through.
Still, the beds were small but comfy, and we were happy with having a bit more privacy than some of the other rooms in the boat.
Just to note: you’ll be asked to store away your larger bags. Storage space in each area of the boat itself tends to be limited and in some areas will be used for other necessary pieces of equipment, so you won’t have much space to keep your stuff in.
Communal spaces and the deck
The deck on the Ti Vaou is split into the area behind the saloon and the area at the front of the boat.
The area behind the saloon is covered by a canopy, so is useful for shade and rain cover. It contains benches which can fit 3-4 people each, plus two raised bed-like areas which people chilled on.
The front deck is quite spacious – much more spacious, we were told, than many of the other sailboats within the Blue Sailing catalogue, and many of the other sailboats which we saw moving around the San Blas. There’s plenty of room for people to lie on the front. There’s also two nets right at the front which take up to four people.
Note that the front deck can only be used in good weather during the crossing – our captain, Hermann, told us that the previous three crossings of the Ti Vaou had not been good enough to use the front deck. We had ‘good’ weather so were able to go up there, and I imagine it would’ve been a bit cramped if it had been out of bounds, although this would be a problem on any boat!
There’s also an indoor saloon with benches and a table. This wasn’t really used except for the crew.
Overall, we felt comfortable on the boat, and having some space to lie back and enjoy the sun and breeze during the crossing was appreciated!
Meals
To give you an idea of food quality – the others on our boat were arguing over who would get to take Joshua, our cook, back with them when we got off the boat!
The food was pretty good. Given the number of people compared to space on the back deck, almost all the meals were intended for eating on our lap. We normally got a main meal, and a couple of times pudding was also available.
During the open water crossing, we mainly got bowl and spoon food, like a burrito or pasta salad. It was all tasty – portions were quite small, but as a lot of people were suffering from mild sea sickness I felt like one of the few people on the boat with a normal appetite!
Once we were at the islands, our meals got more variable and elaborate. For example, several times at breakfast a table would come out and be loaded with different foods: normally fruit salad and some kind of carb, like pancakes or arepas, with spreads. At one of the islands we also had a BBQ on the beach with pork rib, beef, pineapple coleslaw salad, guacamole, chimichurri and potatoes – delicious!
If you’re like me and like to eat a lot, I’d recommend bringing some snacks with you if you’re still hungry after each meal. However, there were always bananas available in the saloon.
Drinks-wise, there was always drinking water available on the back deck, and you could get coffee with breakfast in the morning. Anything else, we took with us.
The San Blas Islands
As part of the trip – and this goes for all crossings from Colombia to Panama – you spend some time on the San Bas islands.
We visited three islands. All three were pretty, but you can’t really go wrong in the San Blas! Every island, literally, looks like a tropical oasis. All three islands were surrounded by a tropical reef with corals, and there were plenty of snorkelling opportunities (the Ti Vaou has snorkelling equipment on board which you can use on the islands). We saw plenty of shoals of fish, and also spotted a turtle and eagle ray in the water.
As for the islands themselves, they were gorgeous. The beaches themselves are very skinny but pretty. One beach had white sand with flecks of pink, which was probably the most gorgeous sand I’ve ever seen! Likewise, the water was warm and completely clear, and was the nicest water I’ve ever swam in.
The only thing that was a bit sad is that in a few areas of each island you’d see burnt or abandoned rubbish. Although I know that most of the islands are home to a couple of families, and this is their livelihoods, homes and property, I do wish that the islands were slightly better preserved in this sense.
Seasickness
On the Ti Vaou, a lot of people felt mild seasickness, with lower appetites and energy. Only one person threw up. I was mostly fine throughout.
However, most people took dramamine, so it could’ve been worse without medication.
I should say that the weather and wind we got on our trip was mild for this crossing, so it could have been a lot choppier! In this case I guess there would be a fair bit more seasickness.
Structure of the trip
For those wondering about the structure of the trip, I figured I’d give you a rough idea of the times we spent on each island. After this, I’ve broken down a full itinerary of what we did and when.
Generally speaking, the open water crossing takes 24 to 48 hours. In our case, it took 46 – we set off on the Ti Vaou around 11 pm and docked around 9 pm two days later.
Following that, you should get two to three days on the San Blas islands. We understand that on the sixth day you normally leave around 7 or 8 am; however, as our crossing took longer than normal, we left around 2 pm.
During the San Blas part of the trip, you will probably visit three islands.
If you’re interested in exactly what we did, when, I’ve broken it down below! It’s very in depth but I hope it’s useful.
Our full itinerary
Day 1 (15th April)
9:00 am: my sister, Lou, and I pack our luggage outside our dorm in Viajero Cartagena, in time for our 10 am meeting at the boat. A girl from our dorm asks if we’re on Ti Vaou! We are. As my sister and I are sharing our luggage, we pack all our things into one big backpack and one small backpack. The rest of our bags is later stowed in the hold on the boat.
9:45 am: a bit late, we get a taxi to Club Náutico, a marina in Manga (a neighbourhood in Cartagena) where the Ti Vaou is docked. It should take 15 minutes – will we make it?
9:55 am: our taxi driver stops for cambio…
10:05 am: 5 minutes late, we arrive at Club Náutico and sign in, then go down to the boat.
10:10 am: a chirpy woman takes the remainder of the balance from us in cash and changes our spare pesos to dollars. Then, they tell us we can go, and just to be back at 8 pm. We had expected a much longer meeting!
10:30 am: we leave the boat, to spend the rest of the day in Cartagena and stock up on essentials, such as suncream and dramamine.
7:30 pm: we take a taxi to Club Náutico.
7:40 pm: we arrive at the boat, then go to the supermarket for drinks and snacks.
8:10 pm: we are back on the boat, chilling. None of the passengers know when we are leaving or what the plan is, but are enjoying getting to know one another. (On the boat there are two Australian couples, one Dutch couple, two Dutch friends, three Dutch solo travellers, one Swiss-Portuguese solo traveller and us. We were pleased there were so many friendly people on our boat!)
9:00 pm: the captain informs us that we will leave in 2 hours.
10:00 pm: the captain, Herman, introduces himself and gives us 5 mins of safety instructions. Later, he’ll show us how to use the toilet (as it’s a boat it flushes differently to the toilets on land).
10:40 pm: we all take a dramamine in preparation for departure.
11:15 pm: we set off!!
11:30 pm: as it takes 1.5 hours to leave the bay, everyone goes to sit on the front deck again, whilst the water is still calm.
12:00 am: all the fun sights are behind us and basically everyone goes to bed.
Day 2 (16th April)
9:30 am: I’m awake. We’re on the open ocean!
10:00 am: I have breakfast – there’s granola, milk and fruit salad. The cook pours to avoid spillage, as the boat is moving about a lot.
10:30 am: chill time. We can go on the front deck (although the nets are out of bound). It’s a bit rough so no one does much – most people read and sunbathe. The weather is cloudy but sunny and with a breeze, and later some of us will discover we burned quite badly!
2:00 pm: we have lunch (pasta). It’s very tasty but the portion is not particularly big, although a lot of people don’t finish it as they’re suffering from seasickness. I’m still hungry and have a banana. More chill time.
4:00 pm: we spot dolphins.
6:00 pm: the sun goes down, although it’s so uniformly cloudy that there are no pretty colours or scenes.
6:30 pm: we’re informed that, given the wind, we are now due to arrive at the San Blas islands midday the next day. (Yay!)
7:00 pm: we have dinner. It’s a fish burrito, which appears to be designed to be eaten easily during rougher weather. It’s tasty but I’m still hungry. Half of us have a banana.
8:00 pm: without much to do and the weather too bad to play cards or do anything else, everyone goes to bed. Lou and I attempt to play cards on our bed.
9:00 pm: we go to sleep.
Day 3 (17th April)
8:30 am: we wake up to bad news – the wind’s gone down and we’re now not due to arrive until the evening. On the plus side, the sea is very calm!
9:30 am: breakfast is served. Today it’s fruit salad and toast with Nutella and peanut butter.
10:00 am: chill time. It’s much less rocky today and there’s sun, so spirits are up.
2:00 pm: lunch! Today it’s chickpea salad with couscous and avocado. Portion sizes have increased (to my excitement).
2:30 pm: all the passengers on the boat sit in the back deck to play games. It’s very wholesome!
3:00 pm: more chill time. Given the calmer waters, we’re cleared to go on the nets at the front of the boat.
6:00 pm: we get a nicer sunset today.
7:00 pm: dinner! Tonight it’s tuna, salad and rice.
8:00 pm: the captain tells us we have 1 hour, 15 minutes until anchorage at the San Blas. Everyone stays awake to see it. In the meantime, there’s a lot of stargazing as we appreciate the clear skies.
9:15 pm: we anchor at an island. It’s so dark that we can’t really see it.
9:30 pm: everyone goes to bed, intending to get up early the next day.
Day 4 (18th April)
7:30 am: I wake up to a very pretty duo of islands. And discover immediately that one of the guys has been stung by a jellyfish.
8:00 am: as he’s in a bad way, the crew decide to take him to medical care. (It’s later thought he had an allergic reaction.)
8:15 am: the boat sets sail.
8:30 am: the crew makes contact with the mainland and says a speedboat will be with us in 30 mins.
8:45 am: we have breakfast! Today it’s pancakes with Nutella, syrup and banana.
9:30 am: the speedboat carries the injured person away. The captain goes with them.
9:40 am: we’re at a new island! We have some time to chill, with many people swimming to the island. The cook announces we’re going to have a BBQ on the beach for lunch.
12:30 pm: the rest of the group arrive back from the medical centre in Panama – everything is good.
2:00 pm: everyone heads to the beach for the BBQ. The captain takes our dry items across the water by dinghy.
3:00 pm: BBQ time! There’s pork ribs, beef strips, pineapple coleslaw style salad, aubergine and onion, chimichurri, guacamole and potatoes, with banana pie for dessert. Everyone is very happy (and very full).
3:30 pm: more chill time. This time, most people stay on the beach or in the water. Some people snorkel; others play volleyball.
6:15 pm: we head back to the boat. By 6:30 pm, everyone is drinking, dancing and generally having a great time!
7:30 pm: people start being ferried by dinghy to a nearby island, which has a bar, for dinner.
8:30 pm: we sit down for dinner (fried fish, rice and salad).
9:00 pm: everyone has a drink and boogie.
10:00 pm: some people (including me) head back to the boat. Others don’t come back until 11:30 pm.
10:30 pm: bed (for me).
Day 5 (19th April)
7:30 am: I get up and have a swim. We’re still at the first (second) island, so now it’s time to chill!
9:00 am: a breakfast spread, comprising toast, fruit salad and potato and egg pie, is put on a table on the back deck, so that everyone can eat around it.
11:00 am: Ti Vaou moves back to the first island we visited, which we had left post-jellyfish sting.
12:00 pm: we arrive back at the first island. Chill time! We go snorkelling and see an eagle ray.
2:00 pm: lunch is served; today it’s chicken curry, quinoa and salad.
2:30 pm: most people chill on the boat for a while.
4:00 pm: Lou and I go on a walk around the island. It’s sooo pretty!
5:30 pm: everyone returns to the boat and chills together.
7:30 pm: dinner is served. This time it’s red snapper pasta. We’d seen the chef preparing the red snapper over a BBQ on the island earlier!
8:00 pm: everyone chills on the boat together.
9:30 pm: an eagle ray is spotted swimming on the surface of the water!
10:00 pm: bed.
Day 6 (20th April)
7:30 am: I wake up.
8:00 am: we go for a snorkel. It’s gorgeous until I am stung by a jellyfish.
9:00 am: breakfast is served – corn arepas, boiled eggs and fruit salad, again as a spread. I don’t eat much as my knee hurts and I’m a bit crampy from the jellyfish sting!
9:30 am: chill time.
10:30 am: the boat sets sail!
12:00 pm: we reach a new island, with an hour remaining to explore.
1:00 pm: lunch (pork fried rice with avocado).
1:30 pm: the speed boat that will take us to the mainland arrives. Everyone packs, changes and brings their luggage out to be put on the boat.
2:15 pm: the speed boat leaves.
3:00 pm: we reach the mainland and split into three cars to go to Panama City. On the journey we go through the border to Panama but don’t even have to get out of the car (we’ve already been stamped into the country by the captain).
6:30 pm: we reach our hostel in Panama City.
How does the trip aboard the Ti Vaou rate as an experience?
As part of this blog, I rate every place, experience and activity I do, in hopes of helping others to decide whether they’re worth a go. These are the scores I’ve written at the top of this page!
This is how Ti Vaou rated for me:
- Accessibility: 4/5 – any boat trip between Colombia and Panama requires a reasonable amount of mobility and swimming ability, and trips aboard the Ti Vaou are no exception. However, the trips are easy to arrange and transfers are organised on your behalf.
- Safety: 4/5 – the boat trip feels completely safe. My only concern is that there can be problems with evacuation if there’s a medical emergency. On the ocean crossing and within the San Blas Islands, it isn’t easy to reach medical facilities on the mainland.
- Enjoyment: 5/5 – I love love LOVED the Ti Vaou!
- Value: 3/5 – all boat trips between Colombia and Panama are a bit pricey in my opinion. From Panama you can organise to visit the San Blas Islands comparatively cheaply, and doing the journey as a flight is affordable too. However, you are paying for the experience!
Overall score: 4/5
More: how I rank destinations using the Everywhere Ratings system
How to book the Ti Vaou
If you’re interested in booking the Ti Vaou for the crossing between Colombia and Panama, you can do this with Blue Sailing. Just visit their website to organise the trip!
Conclusion
To summarise, it may be clear from all the above, but I really enjoyed our trip on the Ti Vaou. It was my first sailing trip and makes me want to get on a catamaran and sail into the horizon!
If you’re looking for more space, a catamaran like Ti Vaou on the trip makes perfect sense, and we were really happy with our experience. Happy sailing!
Are you planning a boat trip between Colombia and Panama? Let me know if you have any questions in the comments!
